I was a pretty slim kid (5'8", 130 lbs) in high school, which made me a difficult target to begin with. Added to that, I was pretty spry so I was essentially a small, fast target. I loved dodgeball, if only to have the chance to piss off the bigger kids. The easiest way I found to avoid getting hit was to fake a jump, then just before my feet left the ground entirely, I would throw myself to the ground. The throwers always thought I was going up and would aim high, missing me by a mile.

The downside to this strategy was being the last one standing on my team when the muscle heads had all four balls on their side of the court. Coordinated attacks FTL.

Man, there is nothing finer, on God's sweet, green farking Earth, than having internet comments read to you by a communications professional, and watching a Yahoo video of a Youtube video of some home video.

fwiw, In elementary school, a dodgeball game almost killed me. Not necessarily dodge ball's fault, but allowing it to be played, unsupervised on asphalt with kids that don't understand about falls and concussions.

also this college student is not doing a "ninja move" - it is Brazilian Capoeira. You sometimes see that dancy martial art combined with soccer, as in this vid, but I guess if you are attending a lame ass university for gym teachers you can combine the moves with dodge ball.

fwiw, In elementary school, a dodgeball game almost killed me. Not necessarily dodge ball's fault, but allowing it to be played, unsupervised on asphalt with kids that don't understand about falls and concussions.

HairBolus:also this college student is not doing a "ninja move" - it is Brazilian Capoeira. You sometimes see that dancy martial art combined with soccer, as in this vid, but I guess if you are attending a lame ass university for gym teachers you can combine the moves with dodge ball.

HairBolus:also this college student is not doing a "ninja move" - it is Brazilian Capoeira. You sometimes see that dancy martial art combined with soccer, as in this vid, but I guess if you are attending a lame ass university for gym teachers you can combine the moves with dodge ball.

Have we become so lethargic that a simple gymnastics/martial arts move stops the national dialog to garner attention?

lohphat:HairBolus: also this college student is not doing a "ninja move" - it is Brazilian Capoeira. You sometimes see that dancy martial art combined with soccer, as in this vid, but I guess if you are attending a lame ass university for gym teachers you can combine the moves with dodge ball.

Have we become so lethargic that a simple gymnastics/martial arts move stops the national dialog to garner attention?

I call total setup. He was in the air before the guy threw it, the guy threw it where he knew the kid wasn't going to be, and then he took an entire revolution around to wind up and hit the guy. It looks impressive, but anyone who can pull off a flip like that could've set that up. And at least when I was in school in the 80's-90's, it wasn't that hard to find people who could flip like that.

fwiw, In elementary school, a dodgeball game almost killed me. Not necessarily dodge ball's fault, but allowing it to be played, unsupervised on asphalt with kids that don't understand about falls and concussions.

But concussions from dodgeball are hilarious.

Yikes, uh, that was pretty funny.

In my case it was head slamming into asphalt. Then complaining of a headache, walking home, going to bed, then school finally hours later figuring out what happened and calling my mom telling her not to let me go to sleep.

My high school gym teacher called it 'Killball'....and it was the Freshmen versus all the teaching assistants (AKA the football team)....and you used a volleyball instead of those pussy ass red rubber balls....and nobody was ever out, because that represented time where you were not getting beaned with a volleyball, which was the goddamn point, punk. Good times, good times. Shaping hearts and minds.

thesloppy:My high school gym teacher called it 'Killball'....and it was the Freshmen versus all the teaching assistants (AKA the football team)....and you used a volleyball instead of those pussy ass red rubber balls....and nobody was ever out, because that represented time where you were not getting beaned with a volleyball, which was the goddamn point, punk. Good times, good times. Shaping hearts and minds.

We played with 12" softballs, borrowed from the girls softball team. Oh, the welts were glorious.

We had something we called "Saving Private Ryan." If a kid was hit, he had to fall down. If a teammate "resurrected" him by dragging him off the court, they could both stay in. If the "medic" got hit during the attempt, he had to stop dragging and was permanently out. Also, if either team made a basket on the opponents' side (hitting their "base"), that was an automatic win. It was interesting to see the strategies the kids employed with these rules.

buckler:Pants full of macaroni!!: Did anyone else's school district call dodgeball "battleball"?

We had something we called "Saving Private Ryan." If a kid was hit, he had to fall down. If a teammate "resurrected" him by dragging him off the court, they could both stay in. If the "medic" got hit during the attempt, he had to stop dragging and was permanently out. Also, if either team made a basket on the opponents' side (hitting their "base"), that was an automatic win. It was interesting to see the strategies the kids employed with these rules.

We had a game like that called Stash the Trash, except without the medics. The nets on the basketball hoops were tied at the bottom and the first team to eliminate the others players or fill the basket with a bunch of small balls won. Loved that game.

farkingismybusiness:buckler: Pants full of macaroni!!: Did anyone else's school district call dodgeball "battleball"?

We had something we called "Saving Private Ryan." If a kid was hit, he had to fall down. If a teammate "resurrected" him by dragging him off the court, they could both stay in. If the "medic" got hit during the attempt, he had to stop dragging and was permanently out. Also, if either team made a basket on the opponents' side (hitting their "base"), that was an automatic win. It was interesting to see the strategies the kids employed with these rules.

We had a game like that called Stash the Trash, except without the medics. The nets on the basketball hoops were tied at the bottom and the first team to eliminate the others players or fill the basket with a bunch of small balls won. Loved that game.

We had a similar variation called "Medicball". Each team was assigned (usually 2) Medics, who were each given a foam noodle. They were restricted to small corners on either side of the backcourt, and could only come out if someone were hit. Again, the hit teammate had to sit or lie down until the "Medic" could touch them with the foam noodle, at which point they could resume play. If a Medic was hit, the other Medic could attempt to save him / her, but if both medics were hit, things went downhill for that team very quickly.if the other team still had at least one of theirs. We maintained the basket rule, because it encouraged some players to go for the "easy win" of a half-court shot rather than focusing on pummeling. Again, the tactics and strategy were interesting to see evolve. It kinda reminded me of the evolution of the "Battle Room" tactics in Ender's Game.

fwiw, In elementary school, a dodgeball game almost killed me. Not necessarily dodge ball's fault, but allowing it to be played, unsupervised on asphalt with kids that don't understand about falls and concussions.

Aw, come on. Those are parts of growing up. As a kid, I had a run in with a school bus and got a steel bolt through my skull for my efforts. I split my head open while showing off on my bicycle. I received a concussion at school after being knocked out on the playground by a stray knee and falling off a bank. That's just to share a few...

I look back on them all as part of growing up. They're learning opportunities. Did I biatch and complain about it? Hell no. I got some biatchin' scars, though!

aNihilV10L8tr:HairBolus: also this college student is not doing a "ninja move" - it is Brazilian Capoeira. You sometimes see that dancy martial art combined with soccer, as in this vid, but I guess if you are attending a lame ass university for gym teachers you can combine the moves with dodge ball.

fwiw, In elementary school, a dodgeball game almost killed me. Not necessarily dodge ball's fault, but allowing it to be played, unsupervised on asphalt with kids that don't understand about falls and concussions.

Aw, come on. Those are parts of growing up. As a kid, I had a run in with a school bus and got a steel bolt through my skull for my efforts. I split my head open while showing off on my bicycle. I received a concussion at school after being knocked out on the playground by a stray knee and falling off a bank. That's just to share a few...

I look back on them all as part of growing up. They're learning opportunities. Did I biatch and complain about it? Hell no. I got some biatchin' scars, though!

Huh? Where did I complain about any of it?

I'll show you some biatching scars. Nothing Lethal Weapon 3 good, but broken arms, wrists, concussions, oh hell yeah. Managed to keep my brain pan intact, though I have forgotten most of 1993.